Empowering Women Since 1881

How to Bring a Salary Negotiation Training to Your Campus

One year after graduation, women earn just 82 percent of what their male counterparts earn, and the gender wage gap widens over the next 10 years, according to AAUW research. A woman graduating today will earn roughly $1 million less over the course of her career than her male counterpart will earn because of this gap.

Negotiating salaries is a challenge for women at all stages of their careers because women are less likely than men to ask for the pay they deserve. $tart $mart salary negotiation workshops empower college women to overcome the gender wage gap and teach them to benchmark and negotiate for a fair and equitable salary when they enter the job market.

More than 225 campuses throughout the United States have already hosted workshops. Recent results show that before the workshop, only 25 percent of attendees said they were confident they could negotiate for the salary and benefits that match their education and experience. That number skyrocketed to 91 percent upon completion of the workshop.

TO EXPAND

Recruit a Campus to Hold a $tart $mart Workshop

It takes approximately six months to plan a $tart $mart workshop. Workshops can be scheduled for any time of year. To bring a $tart $mart workshop to your local campus, follow these steps:

Identify your campus. Use this step-by-step guide to make contact with your local campus. AAUW college/university partner members are already invested in AAUW, and they are a good place to start when you’re looking for a venue. You can also use the $tart $mart program as an opportunity to invite colleges and universities that are not yet AAUW C/U partner members to join AAUW.

Assemble your team. You’ll need a campus coordinator who is committed to planning and executing the program and a trained $tart $mart Facilitator. If you don’t know a facilitator in your area, the AAUW staff will help you identify one.

Prepare your budget. The total cost for a workshop is the workshop fee plus the travel-related expenses of getting the $tart $mart Facilitator to and from your workshop.

Workshop Fee
The fee for the use and development of $tart $mart materials for the inaugural workshop at a college or university is $650. This drops to $350 for every subsequent workshop.

Travel-Related Expenses
The workshop sponsor must also pay for the travel and lodging costs (if more than 25 miles of travel is necessary) for a $tart $mart Facilitator. The facilitator will submit documentation of her or his travel-related expenses to AAUW, which will then invoice the sponsor. AAUW will reimburse the $tart $mart Facilitator after receipt of payment from the sponsor.

License Option
A license is available to colleges and universities that want to provide unlimited workshops for three academic years. The three-year license gives a campus access to all workshop materials, complete support from AAUW staff, and special benefits. This option requires a signed agreement and payment of $1,750 to AAUW.

Cancellation Fee
If the workshop is canceled fewer than 30 days before the scheduled date, you have to pay a $300 cancellation fee.

Advertise the workshop. Target college students for the salary negotiation workshops and local media for publicity. Use the $tart $mart page to help.

Execute the workshop. On the day of the workshop, make sure you have a table for registration and handouts (the $tart $mart student workbook) and AAUW materials, all of which will be provided to you ahead of time.

Train to Be a $tart $mart Facilitator

$tart $mart Facilitators coordinate and present $tart $mart workshops and often help recruit campuses to host the workshops. The trainees must attend a three-hour $tart $mart workshop so that you can observe the entire process. After the workshop, you’ll receive an additional hour and a half of training specific to the facilitator role.Anyone with a passion for helping women graduates earn a fair salary can be trained as a facilitator; this can be a great opportunity to introduce nonmembers to AAUW.

To become a trained facilitator (or arrange for others to do so), follow these steps:

Determine your qualifications. You should possess a passion for ending the gender wage gap, some training experience, the ability to manage the workshop’s compact curriculum, good listening skills, the ability to respond properly to an audience, and the aptitude to deliver the workshop as written by $tart $mart — to ensure consistency and quality.

Prepare your budget. There is a $100 training fee, but facilitators receive a $50 refund once they recruit a new campus or facilitate their first workshop.

Attend a training. First, you will observe a $tart $mart salary negotiation workshop presented by a certified trainer. The facilitator training then covers the following:

How to solicit campus workshop sites

Setting expectations for $tart $mart workshops

$tart $mart workshop script and sample role-playing scripts

$tart $mart Facilitator training guide and presentation checklist

Additional tips

Information about AAUW

$tart $mart Facilitator training form

Sample campus commitment form

Student evaluation forms

$tart $mart Facilitator self-evaluation form

After the facilitator training, you join a network of facilitators and receive coaching and mentoring before and after workshops.

Recruit a campus.Use this step-by-step guide for more information on how to recruit a school to host a training. If you facilitate or recruit one campus within the year that you are trained as a facilitator, you will become a member of the $tart $mart Leaders Circle. You will also gain access to the $tart $mart online community, where you can request workshops, see evaluation results, and communicate with AAUW and your fellow facilitators.

Encourage Your Branch or Community to Sponsor a $tart $mart Workshop

AAUW branches and members can team up with their local college or university to sponsor a workshop by covering the modest workshop fees and costs, which start at $650 for a new campus. If a college or university is concerned about the cost of the workshop, suggest that the cost can be divided among several campus and community organizations. This is a fabulous community-building event among branches, members, C/U partners, and the young women who attend. Make sure your branch takes advantage of this opportunity!Get more details on fees and logistics above.